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Rehearsal Tools
(See Rehearsal Files below)You can download a free copy of the vanBasco "Karaoke Player" which works very well for playing midi rehearsal files. They also have a decent search engine for finding free midi files (in parts!) for rehearsal purposes.
Get vanBasco's Karaoke Player NOW - totally FREE!
Note for Vista users: Install the player from an id with Administrator privileges. When you run the installer "vkaraoke.exe", please right-click it and choose "Run As ..." and then select an administrator account.
When you launch a midi file with the Karaoke Player, you will see several windows. One of them is the 'Midi Output' window...
...which shows the various electronic "instruments" that the midi file was recorded with. Choral rehearsal files are often recorded so that each different voice part is represented by it's own instrument (and it's not always a voice, it could be a trombone or clarinet or whatever). In the example above, the 7-part a capella Biebel Ave Maria is recorded with various electronic wind and string instruments representing the different voice parts. In this case the first choir tenor I part is represented by the Recorder.
One other thing to know: There are two columns of buttons down the left side, red and gray. Here is a shot of the Midi Output window showing the 4-part Bach Motet #6 (where Sop/Alto/Tenor/Bass are all recorded as "Choir Aahs" instruments)...
If you click the gray button (as I have done next to my Tenor part), it will "light up" and that particular part will play louder than the other parts so you can hear it better for rehearsal. You can also click the red buttons to turn off all but, say, your part and the organ accompaniment. There's another window that pops up that allows you to play with speed, volumne (and even pitch!).
Caveat: These files are recorded by volunteers, often amateurs, who may or may not be working off the same score as you are. If you hear a note that just doesn't seem right, it probably isn't ... don't learn the wrong note! -- just let us know and maybe we can fix it. ;-)
MIDI Rehearsal Files
P.S. If you're really into this midi stuff, there is a pretty good free Midi editor here: www.anvilstudio.com. Also, for the adventurous among you, there are ways to convert a midi file to a wave file for burning onto a CD. There is information about this at the VanBasco FAQ page.